Midland, other counties declared disaster areas

Published 7:30 am, Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 38 counties in Michigan, including Midland County, as primary natural disaster areas.

Local counties named primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain with cooler than normal temperatures that began April 1, 2013 include: Bay, Clare, Gladwin and Midland.

Farmers and ranchers in Isabella and Saginaw counties also qualify for natural disaster assistance because they are contiguous.

All qualified farm operators in the designated areas are eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers have eight months to apply for loans to help cover part of their losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help farmers recover from adversity.

Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures. Additional information is also available online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov